Twee Rivieren to Stellenbosch, South Africa 14 - 19 Nov 07

Cape Town and Cape of Good Hope

We set off early to avoid the thermals and flew south in smooth air over pink desert until about the last half hour when we had to duck below the low cloud layer surrounding the Capetown area. In spite of the grey clouds, we were impressed by the beautiful hilly scenery and vineyards. It is late spring here and the countryside is lovely and green after the winter rains – a pleasant change after so much desert country on our way down West Africa and Namibia.

We were reminded of Tuscany in the spring. Our friends Fizzy and Bob came to meet us and we enjoyed a delicious light lunch at a nearby winery Avontuur, together with our Earthrounder friend Dorise Hettlich, who is organizing the next Earthrounders meeting in Cape Town in March 08.
We are staying with Fizzy and Bob at their house in Somerset West for six nights and they took us out to dinner at their favourite restaurant down the road, Steffanie's Place. We will be back!

15 November. We went shopping in the morning at a large California-style shopping mall in Somerset West. In the afternoon, we walked with Dorise Hettlich from her house by a golf course, up Helderberg Mountain in an adjacent nature reserve, to the spot by a stream where she had scattered her husband Frank's ashes earlier this year. We toasted Frank with a bottle of champagne and a freshly baked almond cake.
Dinner was at Camps Bay with Fizzy, Bob and their friends Benny and Rica.